Photo: Laura Brett/ZUMA Press Wire/Reuters

Zohran Mamdani’s demonstrative victory in the first round of the mayoral primary against Andrew Cuomo has continued to rock the political world, as the 33-year-old state legislator appears poised to defeat the long-favored former governor. But Mamdani’s success is prompting strong reactions within the Democratic Party as politicians weigh embracing him or trying to put distance between them as Republicans move to tie the party as a whole to the democratic socialist. Here are eight ways Democrats are reacting to the upset and Mamdani’s widening path to City Hall.

All in and loving it

Prior to his stunning Election Night victory, Mamdani received two key endorsements from the state’s congressional delegation: representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez. Ocasio-Cortez, who held a highly attended joint rally with Mamdani in Manhattan on the first day of early voting, congratulated the assemblymember Tuesday after Cuomo appeared to concede the race to Mamdani. “Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city. Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” she wrote on social media. The next day, she said that Mamdani proved that voters want “generational change” from Democrats:

.@AOC says @ZohranKMamdani’s win was, in part, NYC voters sending a message to the Dem party.“The entire Dem establishment, when given a broad range of candidates … still decided to stubbornly choose Andrew Cuomo … when the people are clearly asking for generational change” pic.twitter.com/Q6QdCENbED

— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) June 26, 2025

Velázquez also stumped for Mamdani on the trail, joining him and Ocasio-Cortez at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and speaking at his Election Night party. The veteran politician congratulated Mamdani for his defeat of Cuomo and urged Democrats to coalesce around him. “NYers voted for [Zohran Mamdani] because working people are under attack from not only the Trump Admin, but the disastrous affordability crisis — and he is the fighter to take these problems on. It’s time for the Democrats to get behind Zohran,” she posted on X.

Mamdani also had the backing of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the longtime progressive who, in an interview with Politico, touted his victory as proof of the strength of a grassroots movement:

What he understood and understands — campaign’s not over — is that to run a brilliant campaign, you have to run a grassroots campaign. So instead of taking money from billionaires and putting stupid ads on television, which the people increasingly do not pay attention to, you mobilize thousands and thousands of people around the progressive agenda that speaks to the needs of working-class people and you go out and you knock on doors. And if somebody like a Kamala Harris had not listened to her consultants and done that, she would be president of the United States today.

So number one, he ran a strong grassroots campaign around the progressive agenda. They go together. You cannot run a grassroots campaign unless you excite people. You cannot excite people unless you have something to say. And he had a lot to say. He said that he wants to make New York City livable, affordable for ordinary people, that the wealthiest people in New York City are going to start to have to pay their fair share in taxes so that you can stabilize the outrageously high costs of housing in New York, which, by the way, is a crisis all over this country. That you could deal with transportation in a sensible way, deal with child care, deal with health care, deal with the needs of ordinary working-class people. So you come up with an agenda that makes sense to people. They get motivated in the campaign. They are prepared to knock on doors. That’s how you win elections.

“Welcome to the party, pal”

Some Democrats have heralded Mamdani as the wave of the future, like Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, per CNN:

“I know that this feels like a shock to a lot of folks, but it doesn’t seem like rocket science. He’s focused on reordering economic power, he’s dynamic, and he’s a new voice. Check, check, check,” Murphy said of Mamdani. Voters “want you to have a couple of new ideas. They don’t mind that some of that could sound a little dangerous. It’s almost like a calling card at this point to have some ideas that are out of the 20-yard line.”

Paige Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, also spoke to CNN:

“Running a city myself, I’m not sure all those ideas are actionable and practical in the way they sound on a TikTok video, but that aside, he met people, he listened to people,” she said.

“I’m sure the ads are already being cut by the Republicans,” she told CNN, “but to me the lesson for the Democratic Establishment is we need to stop thinking that the ads from 2006 are going to work in 2026.”

The rush by some to write Mamdani off or distance from him is a way to more losses, Cognetti argued. “If 2024 wasn’t a wake-up call,” she said, “this needs to be.”

“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”

One of Mamdani’s first post–Election Night endorsers was Representative Jerry Nadler, who had backed former comptroller Scott Stringer in the primary. In a statement, Nadler compared the assemblymember’s win to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential victory, calling it a “seismic election for the Democratic Party.”

“Zohran is someone who will be a partner with me in Washington to take on Donald Trump,” he said.

Brooklyn Democratic Party chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn had backed Cuomo in the primary but said she would go on to support Mamdani in the fall, saying in a statement that “the people have spoken.”

“To everyone who had reservations, I ask you to put them aside in this moment and come together for the future of our city and our party,” she said.

“Good luck with that”

Said former president Bill Clinton, who endorsed Cuomo, in a statement the day after Mamdani’s victory:

Congratulations @ZohranKMamdani on your victory in yesterday’s primary election and a well-run campaign. I’m wishing you much success in November and beyond as you work to bring New Yorkers together to tackle the city’s challenges and shape a stronger, fairer future.

Impressed, but keeping their distance

Many Democrats have taken a strikingly similar approach to Mamdani’s victory: They’ve congratulated him and praised his campaign, but have stopped short of endorsing him.

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leaders in the Senate and the House, notably refrained from weighing in on the contentious mayoral primary while it was still underway. But following Mamdani’s success on Tuesday, the two congratulated him without backing him.

Schumer noted that he previously worked with Mamdani to provide debt relief for cabdrivers and said that he ran “an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, and opportunity.”

“I spoke with Zohran Mamdani this morning and am looking forward to getting together soon,” he said on social media.

Jeffries congratulated Mamdani on a “decisive primary victory.”

“Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City. We spoke this morning and plan to meet in Central Brooklyn shortly,” Jeffries said on Wednesday.

Governor Kathy Hochul similarly stayed out of the race, which included Cuomo, her former running mate. In a statement, the governor also refrained from a direct endorsement, but said Mamdani “built a formidable grassroots coalition, and I look forward to speaking with him in the days ahead about his ideas on how to ensure a safe, affordable, and livable New York City.”

Staying quiet

Per Axios, several House members representing battleground districts in New York avoided saying anything about Mamdani after his victory:

Reps. Pat Ryan, Josh Riley and Ritchie Torres — who went so far as to say he wouldn’t run for governor if Mamdani won — all dodged reporters [on Wednesday]. Rep. Dan Goldman, asked if he had any thoughts on the result, told Axios: “Not right now.”

Definitely nervous

Representative Tom Suozzi, a moderate who endorsed Cuomo in the race, reemphasized that he has strong differences with Mamdani:

I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before yesterday, and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent. Those concerns remain.

— Tom Suozzi (@Tom_Suozzi) June 25, 2025

New Jersey representative Josh Gottheimer seemed to appreciate the lesson of Mamdani’s win, but also said he thought the candidate’s other views would hurt the party. Per Punchbowl News:

It’s clear from last night that Democrats are still pissed about 2024, and pocketbook issues top all others. But, far left policies, antisemitic rhetoric, and higher taxes will not help us win our frontline seats in 2026.

Queens representative Gregory Meeks also shared his concerns with Punchbowl:

In talking to some of my colleagues, they’re very concerned about it. I’m not going to lie. That concerns me also, because we need to be in the majority right now here. Our nation is at stake.

Representative George Latimer remains skeptical as well, per NOTUS:

Latimer [said] that Mamdani “got the Democratic line” but stopped short of backing him. Latimer and other critics of Mamdani have highlighted the 33-year-old’s lack of experience governing on a large scale.

“The next step is to see what happens next,” Latimer told NOTUS. “To have ideas, to rally people, to show energy and charisma is part of the political process, but to govern, you have to be able to run the largest police force, the largest fire department, a host of things.”

Never Mamdani

There are others who couldn’t put distance between themselves and Mamdani fast enough. Laura Gillen, a freshman New York congresswoman representing a purple Long Island district, issued a strong denouncement of Mamdani and declared him “too extreme to lead New York City.”

“His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs,” she said. “Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.”

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